FILED ON: 10/26/2026

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 5708

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)

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An Act relative to noise report data and good neighbor policy at Beverly Regional Airport.

 Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to establish noise reporting requirements for the Beverly regional airport, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

 SECTION 1. For the purposes of this act, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

 “Administrator”, the administrator of the aeronautics division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

 “Airport” or “BVY”, the Beverly regional airport.

 “Airport commission”, the airport commission of the Beverly regional airport.

 “Airport manager”, the manager of the Beverly regional airport.

 “Commissioner”, a commissioner of the Beverly regional airport.

 “Division”, the aeronautics division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, established in section 59 of chapter 6C of the General Laws.

 “Noise complaint”, any complaint or report of excessive noise.

 “Touch and Go”, an operation by an aircraft that lands and departs on a runway without stopping or exiting the runway, by landing on the runway, accelerating and taking off again.

 SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the division shall collect and post on its website all noise reports and complaints made to BVY between April 1 and October 1.

 (b) The division’s report shall include the day, date and hour during which the noise that is the subject of a noise complaint occurred. The division’s report shall include noise reports made via the airport’s website, telephone, voicemail, email, written letter or in-person visit to the airport or to a commissioner by any reporter.

 (c) Not later than 14 days following the end of each month, the division shall collect the data described in this section for that month. Not later than 20 days following the end of each month, the division shall post this data for that month in a readily accessible section of the division’s public website. The data shall be posted and shall remain on the website in perpetuity.

 SECTION 3. (a) The division shall collect from the BVY Tower the number and time of day of all so-called “Touch and Go” operations between April 1 and October 1. The division shall collect this data no later than 14 days following the end of each month and shall post the data in a readily accessible section of the BVY public website no later than 20 days following the end each month and such data shall remain on the website in perpetuity.

 (b) Annually, not later than December 31, the administrator shall share all noise data collected with the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on transportation and with the secretary of transportation.

 SECTION 4. At the request of at least 2 commissioners, the airport commission shall convene a public meeting devoted to noise reports at which members of the public may ask questions of the commissioners and the airport manager, who shall, to the best of their ability, answer the questions.

 SECTION 5. Annually, the division shall provide to the airport manager and the commissioners guidance in the development, implementation and oversight of a policy, commonly referred to as Good Neighbor or Fly Neighborly policy, designed to facilitate an understanding among flight school owners, flight school instructors and student pilots and all pilots of the airport of the noise impact of “Touch and Go” operations on neighbors within 3 miles of runways. Said Good Neighbor policy guidance shall include but not be limited to a sample written policy, suggested steps for informing all airport tenants of the policy and a social media toolkit for publicizing said policy to all airport tenants, pilots, student pilots and commissioners. The airport shall provide a written copy of the policy to all student pilots and pilots and shall post the policy visibly in several locations, including pilot areas.

 SECTION 6. The airport shall provide each applicant for a badge at BVY with a copy of the Good Neighbor Policy.

  SECTION 7. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.